[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 221 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 221

     To prevent handgun violence and illegal commerce in handguns.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2003

    Mr. Wexler (for himself, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. Moran of Virginia) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To prevent handgun violence and illegal commerce in handguns.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Gunrunning Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTING GUN TRAFFICKING BY RESTRICTING HANDGUN TRANSFERS TO 
              ONE PER MONTH.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(z)(1) The Congress finds and declares that--
            ``(A) crime, particularly crime involving drugs and guns, 
        is a pervasive, nationwide problem;
            ``(B) crime at the local level is exacerbated by the 
        interstate movement of drugs, guns, and criminal gangs;
            ``(C) firearms and ammunition move easily in interstate 
        commerce;
            ``(D) the illegal movement of firearms, and handguns in 
        particular, across state lines is a widespread and pervasive 
        national problem;
            ``(E) handguns (even when lawfully purchased) are 
        unlawfully transported across state lines by gun traffickers 
        and are illegally sold to prohibited persons;
            ``(F) in fact, even before a firearm is illegally sold by a 
        trafficker, the gun, its component parts, ammunition, and the 
        raw materials from which it is made have moved in interstate 
        commerce;
            ``(G) law-abiding persons may fear to travel interstate or 
        to or through certain parts of the country due to concern about 
        violent crime and gun violence;
            ``(H) the illegal movement of handguns across state lines 
        substantially affects the national market for firearms, because 
        handguns sold in one State in which there are few restrictions 
        provide a convenient source for the acquisition of handguns by 
        gun traffickers who transport the handguns to jurisdictions 
        with stronger restrictions;
            ``(I) the unlawful sale of firearms by traffickers provides 
        a method by which firearms can be bought and sold anonymously, 
        without background checks and without record-keeping 
        requirements to enable gun tracing;
            ``(J) handguns sold by traffickers are often obtained by 
        criminals and other prohibited persons who frequently use guns 
        that cannot be traced to commit crimes;
            ``(K) handgun violence is a pervasive, national problem 
        that is exacerbated by the availability of handguns through gun 
        traffickers;
            ``(L) firearms from traffickers have been involved in 
        subsequent crimes including drug offenses, crimes of violence, 
        property crimes, and illegal possession by felons and other 
        prohibited persons;
            ``(M) because gun trafficking is often an interstate 
        activity, individual States and localities are often severely 
        hampered in combating illegal handgun purchases--even States 
        and localities that have made strong efforts to prevent, 
        detect, and punish gun-related crime and illegal trafficking of 
        firearms--as a result of the failure or inability of other 
        States or localities to take strong measures; and
            ``(N) the Congress has the power, under the interstate 
        commerce clause and other provisions of the Constitution, to 
        ensure, by enactment of this section, that criminals and other 
        prohibited persons do not obtain firearms through gun 
        traffickers.
    ``(2) It shall be unlawful for any licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed dealer--
            ``(A) during any 30-day period, to sell, deliver, or 
        transfer 2 or more handguns to any single person (other than a 
        licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer), 
        or
            ``(B) to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to any single 
        person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, 
        or licensed dealer), knowing or having reasonable cause to 
        believe that the transferee has already received 1 or more 
        handguns within the previous 30 days.
    ``(3)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person (other than a licensed 
importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer) to receive more 
than one handgun within any 30-day period.
    ``(B) Under such rules and regulations as the Attorney General 
shall prescribe, subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the loan or rental 
of a single handgun solely for purposes of target shooting, provided 
that the recipient possesses no more than one such loaned or rented 
handgun at any one time.
    ``(4) Under such rules and regulations as the Attorney General 
shall prescribe, paragraphs (2) and (3) shall not apply to--
            ``(A) handguns transferred to or received by qualified 
        private security companies licensed to do business within the 
        State where the transfer occurs for use by the company in its 
        security operations, provided that any handgun transferred 
        under this subsection is transferred through a licensed dealer 
        located in the State where the security company is licensed to 
        do business;
            ``(B) the disposition made of a handgun delivered to a 
        person licensed under section 923 for the sole purpose of 
        repair or customizing when such handgun or a replacement 
        handgun of the same kind and type is returned to the person 
        from whom it was received;
            ``(C) the loan or rental of a single handgun from a person 
        licensed under section 923, provided that the recipient 
        possesses no more than one such loaned or rented handgun at any 
        one time;
            ``(D) the redemption of pawned handguns from a person 
        licensed under section 923 by the person from whom the handguns 
        were received;
            ``(E) the receipt of curio or relic handguns by a licensed 
        collector;
            ``(F) the receipt of a single handgun from a person 
        licensed under section 923 to replace a lost or stolen handgun 
        of the same kind or type, where the transferee has submitted to 
        the licensee a copy of an official police report establishing 
        the loss or theft of a handgun or handguns;
            ``(G) the transfer of handguns by bequest;
            ``(H) the transfer of handguns to the transferor's spouse, 
        child, parent, stepparent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, or 
        sister;
            ``(I) the transfer of all or part of a personal firearms 
        collection (as that term is defined in regulations to be 
        prescribed by the Attorney General) that includes handguns, 
        provided that the handguns in the collection are transferred 
        through a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer located in 
        the State where the transferee resides; or
            ``(J) the transfer or receipt of a handgun for the use of 
        the United States or any department or agency thereof or of any 
        State or any department, agency or political subdivision 
        thereof.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a)(2) of such title is amended by 
striking ``or (o)'' and inserting ``(o), or (z)''.
    (c) Increased Penalties for Licensees Who Knowingly Make False 
Statements in Required Records.--
            (1) Section 924(a)(3) of such title is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(A)'';
                    (B) by striking ``or'' after ``chapter'';
                    (C) by striking subsection (B); and
                    (D) by striking ``one year'' and inserting ``5 
                years''.
            (2) Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding at 
        the end the following:
    ``(7) Any licensed dealer, licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed collector who knowingly violates section 
922(m) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 
year, or both.''.
    (d) Conforming Changes to the Brady Law.--Section 922(t) of such 
title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ``(g) or (n)'' and 
        inserting ``(g), (n), or (z)'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(g) or (n)'' and 
        inserting ``(g), (n), or (z)'';
            (3) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
        redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (A) 
        and (B), respectively;
            (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ``(g) or (n)'' and 
        inserting ``(g), (n), or (z)''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(10) A licensee must, within three days of receiving a request 
from the prospective transferee, notify the national instant criminal 
background check system of any background check conducted pursuant to 
this section within the previous 30 days that did not result in the 
transfer of a handgun.
    ``(11) Information that is retained pursuant to Public Law 103-159 
may be used to effectuate section 922(z) of this title.''.
    (e) Effective Date.--The Attorney General shall determine, and 
publish in the Federal Register, the date on which this section shall 
become effective.
                                 <all>